“One day in 2013 she went to a local GNC in L.A. and bought a nutritional supplement. Her English was poor, and she didn’t check the contents, which included the banned hormone DHEA. Efimova’s offense was deemed unintentional, and the normal two-year suspension was reduced to 16 months.” Efimova bought her PEDs from a GNC. She probably also bought a smoothie while she was there. This, at least, was not the work of some secretive state-sponsored doping program. This was an American-style doping scandal!

In Lilly King’s view, there are only clean swimmers and dirty swimmers. King is 19 years old and, as such, might be expected to see the world in such stark terms. But between black and white there is also murky green, as anyone who has watched the Rio diving competitions knows full well. Nobody really knows anything about anything. King and her teammates can feel free to say what they want, but the rest of us should refrain from valorizing their self-righteousness.

Is Russia’s Yulia Efimova really a villain?

Mmmmhmmm